Shadab wrote, "I often am caught up with reading my writing over and over again. Reviewing is important, but I’m embarrassed to admit it, reading and rereading for the sake of self-glorification wastes my time. Can you suggest something?"

I'm easily distracted by pretty much anything to read – which includes my own writing! – so I can definitely see where you're coming from here, Shadab.

It's often tempting to read over past work, whether it's yesterday's or something from years ago. Thoughts like this might crop up:

And when you're caught up in entertaining yourself, patting yourself on the back, or wanting to crawl under a rock and hide ... you're not getting on with any more writing.

(It's particularly tough if you're cringing at your past work – and, likely, forgetting that all first drafts are distinctly rough around the edges.)

So how do you get past this?

These work for me, and you might find they help you too.

Perhaps you'll review the whole manuscript after the first draft is complete ... and not before. Maybe you'll go over previous work for the first 10 or 15 minutes of a writing session ... but then you're moving on. Set sensible limits, and practice sticking to them.

Reviewing your writing is a type of editing (even if it's the type that ends with a "well, that's pretty darn good!" verdict). You might decide that you'll read over your writing in the evenings, or that you'll read on your tablet rather than on your computer screen. This can help you stay more focused when you're supposed to be writing, not reviewing.

It's hard to make consistent progress if you don't have any goals or deadlines (though you do need to make them realistic ones). For instance, if you're working on a novel, you might aim to write an average of 500 words per day. That's not loads (it takes me about half an hour) – but it's enough to net you a full first draft in five months.

I hope this helps, Shadab – and I hope it helps anyone else struggling with the same problem.